Day camper Angela Don, left, hugs Autumn Strier, center, co-founder and chief executive officer at Miracles for Kids, as Strier helps campers with their life vests during the Surf and Paddle Camp at Newport Dunes Waterfront Resort in Newport Beach on Thursday, July 20, 2023. The day-camp was for families with children struggling with life-threatening illnesses to allow them to spend the day enjoying water and beach activities. Volunteers with Miracles for Kids helped the campers to enjoy the day-long experience. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Day campers Esprella Garcia, left, of Lancaster and her daughter, Esmeralda Garcia, 5, right, play in the sand on the beach during the Miracles for Kids Surf and Paddle Camp held at Newport Dunes Waterfront Resort in Newport Beach on Thursday, July 20, 2023. The day-camp was for families with children struggling with life-threatening illnesses to allow them to spend the day enjoying water and beach activities. Volunteers with Miracles for Kids helped the campers to enjoy the day-long experience. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Families along with staff and volunteers with Miracles for Kids pose for a group photo on the beach during the Surf and Paddle Camp at the Newport Aquatic Center in Newport Beach on Thursday, July 20, 2023. The group paddled outrigger canoes across the bay to the Newport Dunes Waterfront Resort. The day-camp was for families with children struggling with life-threatening illnesses to allow them to spend the day enjoying water and beach activities. Volunteers with Miracles for Kids helped the campers to enjoy their day-long experience. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Miracles for Kids day campers Jayden Zarate, 9, left, who has chronic myeloid leukemia, paddles a kayak with his cousin, Alexis Zarate, right, just off the beach from the Newport Aquatic Center during the Surf and Paddle Camp in Newport Beach on Thursday, July 20, 2023. The day-camp was for families with children struggling with life-threatening illnesses to allow them to spend the day enjoying water and beach activities. Volunteers with Miracles for Kids helped the campers to enjoy the day-long experience. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Miracles for Kids volunteer Gordon Hanscom, left, paddles day campers Karden Lassopa, center, and Angela Don, right, on a stand up paddle board as they take a ride during the Surf and Paddle Camp held at Newport Dunes Waterfront Resort in Newport Beach on Thursday, July 20, 2023. The day-camp was for families with children struggling with life-threatening illnesses to allow them to spend the day enjoying water and beach activities. Volunteers with Miracles for Kids helped the campers to enjoy the day-long experience. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Miracles for Kids day campers paddle their outrigger canoes from the Newport Dunes Waterfront Resort to the Newport Aquatic Center during their Surf and Paddle Camp in Newport Beach on Thursday, July 20, 2023. The day-camp was for families with children struggling with life-threatening illnesses to allow them to spend the day enjoying water and beach activities. Volunteers with Miracles for Kids helped the campers to enjoy the day-long experience. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Miracles for Kids day campers are served lunch by Chandos Quill, left center, Aline Suarez, center, and Anabell Martinez-Ceballos, right, at the Newport Aquatic Center during their Surf and Paddle Camp in Newport Beach on Thursday, July 20, 2023. The day-camp was for families with children struggling with life-threatening illnesses to allow them to spend the day enjoying water and beach activities. Volunteers with Miracles for Kids helped the campers to enjoy the day-long experience. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Day camper Leo Casillas of Orange plays plays in the water near the beach during the Miracles for Kids Surf and Paddle Camp held at Newport Dunes Waterfront Resort in Newport Beach on Thursday, July 20, 2023. The day-camp was for families with children struggling with life-threatening illnesses to allow them to spend the day enjoying water and beach activities. Volunteers with Miracles for Kids helped the campers to enjoy the day-long experience. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Miya Meskis of Costa Mesa, center, a volunteer with Miracles for Kids in Irvine, holds two campers hands as they make their way to the outrigger canoes for a trip from the Newport Aquatic Center to the Newport Dunes Waterfront Resort during their Surf and Paddle Camp in Newport Beach on Thursday, July 20, 2023. The day-camp was for families with children struggling with life-threatening illnesses to allow them to spend the day enjoying water and beach activities. Volunteers with Miracles for Kids helped the campers to enjoy the day-long experience. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Day camper Esmeralda Garcia, 5, sits on a stand up paddle board while a volunteer takes her for a ride during the Miracles for Kids Surf and Paddle Camp held at Newport Dunes Waterfront Resort in Newport Beach on Thursday, July 20, 2023. The day-camp was for families with children struggling with life-threatening illnesses to allow them to spend the day enjoying water and beach activities. Volunteers with Miracles for Kids helped the campers to enjoy the day-long experience. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Miracles for Kids day campers sit on the beach and play in the water during the Surf and Paddle Camp held at Newport Dunes Waterfront Resort in Newport Beach on Thursday, July 20, 2023. The day-camp was for families with children struggling with life-threatening illnesses to allow them to spend the day enjoying water and beach activities. Volunteers with Miracles for Kids helped the campers to enjoy the day-long experience. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Miracles for Kids day campers paddle their outrigger canoes from the Newport Dunes Waterfront Resort to the Newport Aquatic Center during their Surf and Paddle Camp in Newport Beach on Thursday, July 20, 2023. The day-camp was for families with children struggling with life-threatening illnesses to allow them to spend the day enjoying water and beach activities. Volunteers with Miracles for Kids helped the campers to enjoy the day-long experience. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Miracles for Kids day camper Oliver Casillas, 8, of Orange plays in the sand at the Newport Aquatic Center during the Surf and Paddle Camp in Newport Beach on Thursday, July 20, 2023. The day-camp was for families with children struggling with life-threatening illnesses to allow them to spend the day enjoying water and beach activities. Volunteers with Miracles for Kids helped the campers to enjoy the day-long experience. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Autumn Strier, right, co-founder and chief executive officer at Miracles for Kids, cheers day campers as they push and paddle their outrigger canoes for a trip from the Newport Aquatic Center to the Newport Dunes Waterfront Resort during their Surf and Paddle Camp in Newport Beach on Thursday, July 20, 2023. The day-camp was for families with children struggling with life-threatening illnesses to allow them to spend the day enjoying water and beach activities. Volunteers with Miracles for Kids helped the campers to enjoy the day-long experience. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A tee shirt worn by a volunteer during the Miracles for Kids Surf and Paddle Camp held at the Newport Aquatic Center and the Newport Dunes Waterfront Resort in Newport Beach on Thursday, July 20, 2023. The day-camp was for families with children struggling with life-threatening illnesses to allow them to spend the day enjoying water and beach activities. Volunteers with Miracles for Kids helped the campers to enjoy the day-long experience. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Miracles for Kids day campers Jayden Zarate, 9, left, who has chronic myeloid leukemia, paddles a kayak with his cousin, Alexis Zarate, right, just off the beach from the Newport Aquatic Center during the Surf and Paddle Camp in Newport Beach on Thursday, July 20, 2023. The day-camp was for families with children struggling with life-threatening illnesses to allow them to spend the day enjoying water and beach activities. Volunteers with Miracles for Kids helped the campers to enjoy the day-long experience. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Miracles for Kids day campers are served lunch at the Newport Aquatic Center during their Surf and Paddle Camp in Newport Beach on Thursday, July 20, 2023. The day-camp was for families with children struggling with life-threatening illnesses to allow them to spend the day enjoying water and beach activities. Volunteers with Miracles for Kids helped the campers to enjoy the day-long experience. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Anabell Martinez-Ceballos, right, a staff member with Miracles for Kids, serves a day camper lunch at the Newport Aquatic Center during the Surf and Paddle Camp in Newport Beach on Thursday, July 20, 2023. The day-camp was for families with children struggling with life-threatening illnesses to allow them to spend the day enjoying water and beach activities. Volunteers with Miracles for Kids helped the campers to enjoy the day-long experience. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Day camper Leo Casillas of Orange plays with toys on the beach during the Miracles for Kids Surf and Paddle Camp held at Newport Dunes Waterfront Resort in Newport Beach on Thursday, July 20, 2023. The day-camp was for families with children struggling with life-threatening illnesses to allow them to spend the day enjoying water and beach activities. Volunteers with Miracles for Kids helped the campers to enjoy the day-long experience. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Miracles for Kids day campers each received a medal at the end of the Surf and Paddle Camp at the Newport Aquatic Center in Newport Beach on Thursday, July 20, 2023. The day-camp was for families with children struggling with life-threatening illnesses to allow them to spend the day enjoying water and beach activities. Volunteers with Miracles for Kids helped the campers to enjoy the day-long experience. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
It was a day of sun and fun recently for 11 families, along with staff and volunteers with Miracles for Kids, who enjoyed a surf and paddle camp that included activities at both the Newport Aquatic Center and Newport Dunes Waterfront Resort.
The day camp was for families of children struggling with life-threatening illnesses, allowing them a day at the beach enjoying the water and each other. Volunteers with Miracles for Kids were there to help make sure the campers enjoyed a long day of experiences.
The morning began with yoga stretching on the beach and then a paddle in outrigger canoes across the bay to the Newport Dunes Waterfront Resort where the families could ride on stand-up paddle boards, play at the inflatable water park or just relax on the beach.
Day campers then hopped back into the outrigger canoes for the trip back across the bay for lunch and more beach and water activities. When it was over, everyone left with a shiny medal marking the day.
“It was so fun,” said Betsy Espinosa of Orange, who watched on as her son, Jayden Zarate, 9, who has chronic myeloid leukemia, paddled a kayak with his cousin, Alexis Zarate. “It was my first time coming and my kids enjoyed it. We are happy to be here.”
